Report: Sessions Senate No. 1 talker

In the end, it wasn’t a senator who filibustered in 2013 that held down the most floor time, and it wasn’t the majority leader who spoke the most either: It was Sen. Jeff Sessions, according to a new analysis.

The Alabama Republican spoke on the Senate floor for 33 hours, the L.A. Times reports based on an analysis of CSPAN video. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) held the floor for 30 hours in 2013.

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Reid opens and closes most Senate sessions and often makes opening remarks, making the minority senator’s accomplishment all the more challenging.

Sessions also edged out other senators who made headlines in 2013 for holding the Senate floor for lengthy speeches. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) might have clocked in a 21-hour floor speech, but the CSPAN analysis found he only spoke for 20 hours in 2013, as he ceded some of his lengthy speech time to other senators. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) conducted a 13-hour filibuster against the confirmation of CIA director nominee John Brennan to rail against the nation’s use of drones, but he wasn’t in the top five talkers of 2013, L.A. Times found.